Macha Gharibian

Born into an Armenian-French family based in Paris, Macha Gharibian developed an early piano practice nourished by classical music, the repertoires of Asia Minor and jazz. Trained at the conservatory and later immersed in the New York scene in her mid-twenties, she refined a language in which improvisation sits alongside song-like forms and a restrained pop sensibility. As a pianist, singer and composer, Macha Gharibian has been building from Paris a project at the crossroads of contemporary jazz, melodies inherited from Armenia and rhythms drawn from Eastern musical traditions, alternating original compositions with reinterpretations of traditional themes. Her first album, Mars, was released in 2013, followed by Trans Extended in 2016 and Joy Ascension in 2020 — records that confirm a compositional attention to acoustic textures and vocal atmospheres. Performing in trio or expanded line-ups on club and festival stages in France and internationally, she sings in several languages and also develops composition work for theatre and image. Her career is also marked by a Victoire du Jazz in the Révélation category and by her appointment as Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2023.